Saturday, March 5, 2016

I'm so excited! I have an opportunity to showcase a collection in a fashion show this October with the Ladies of Style.

I've been busy measuring models, sketching design ideas and buying fabric (my favorite part). I'm on a roll, have everything spread out in my sewing room. My plans are looking good. so good that I made a dress! The only thing about this dress is that it's not for the models or the fashion show. I don't know how I happened to pull out a piece of fabric and make myself another dress for work. It's no secret, I'm a selfish seamstress and my only client is me, with an occasional garment for my daughters. This fashion show is taking me out of my sewing comfort zone which is proving to be a little more challenging than I originally thought.
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Monday, December 28, 2015

McCall's 6355, a semi-fitted dress, cut to a knee length, three quarter-length sleeves, round neckline and invisible zipper. McCall's suggests Cotton, Cotton Blends, Crepe de Chine, Challis, Jersey and Cotton Knits. I crafted my dress in a soft ponte knit from G-Street Fabrics. I added an invisible zipper in the side and my normal two inches to the length. This dress is ideal for both day and evening, even though the pattern envelope features more casual coordinates.

As soon as I finished this dress, I was ready to start on my next project, but while I sat in my sewing room surrounded by crates of fabric and boxes of patterns I had no idea what I wanted to make. Have you ever had one of those moments?

I went through my patterns and fabrics, measured, pondered then I just sat there. As much stuff as I have in my room, I felt like I needed to make a fabric store run. But I didn't, instead I called my sister from another mother, LaToria (LaToria so creative). She told me she was working on McCall's 6886, a pattern she had in her stash and slept on it. I thought that sounded familiar, but I wasn't certain so I looked it up and the first picture that came up was Lucy's (my love affair with sewing) Dolce & Gabbana inspired dress, which I fell in love with! I got excited because I had the pattern and the perfect fabric for a copycat version of Lucy's D&G dress. My original plan was to make a blazer with the fabric, but this was definitely a great alternative. Here's my copycat version and I must say, the third times' a charm.

I constructed this dress with a sweater-knit fabric from JoAnn's and contrast black knit stash fabric.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? The jacket looked sort of liked the pattern envelopes. The skirt looked like the photo on the envelope.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, both sets of instructions were easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?I like everything about the patterns and have no dislikes.

Fabric Used: I used a black and white Houndstooth Fukuro knit and black scuba knit, both from JoAnn Fabrics. I saw the Houndstooth in a Fashion Fusion Magazine during my last JoAnn visit and snatched it up.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I added two inches to the length of the skirt and didn't make any design changes to the jacket except for the pattern layout. Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I would sew the jacket again. This is the second, third, maybe the fourth time making this skirt, idk. I would recommend both patterns to others.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Vogue 7975 is a lined jacket in two lengths with a high
round neckline and varying sleeve lengths. Vogue suggested wool and wool blends, tweeds, boucle, gabardine and medium-weight linen. I used a Jewel Heist metallic houndstooth knit (that's a mouth full) fabric from JoAnn Fabrics.

I saw this fabric in a magazine while in JoAnn Fabrics.I walked up to the cutting counter with a little attitude and said to one of the sales clerk’s “why is it that you all have all of these nice fabrics in these magazines and not in the store?”He told me to follow him and I did.There was just enough left on the bolt to make the jacket, yay!

I didn’t have particular likes or dislikes
about this pattern. Actually, I never
noticed the pattern until I saw it in a magazine. The pattern instructions were very easy to follow.

My finished jacket looked like the drawing on the pattern envelope. I made the long sleeve shorter version, with pockets and trim. A close up picture on my dress form, Avril.

I was on a roll that day, JoAnn's even had the trim!

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Between my stash fabric and all of the fabric I recently purchased from JoAnn and G-Street, yup, I hit both of them (a couple of months ago), this pattern isn't in my queue, at the moment. This jacket is sew versatile, it can be worn several ways!